Ventilating apparatus



July 19, 1955 F. HONERKAMP VENTILATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 3, 1950INVENTOR rivh/flonerkanwp, BY fimawgm A ORNEY filled United StatesPatent 0 VENTHATING APPARATUS Friedrich Honerkamp, New York, N. Y.,assignor t0 Anemostat Corporation of America, New York, N. Y., acorporation of Delaware Application February 3, 1950, Serial No. 142,317

9 Claims. (Cl. 9840) This invention relates to ventilating apparatus,and has particular reference to the combination with an obstruction tothe flow of a stream of air, of means to guide the air stream in adesired manner about the obstruction.

in the ventilating art there frequently are encountered conditions wherean air outlet device must of necessity be mounted in such relationshipto a member, such as a beam, a wall offset, a light fixture or the like,that the member serves to obstruct air flowing from the device andthereby prevents the air from following a most effective ventilatingpath of flow. Alternatively, there frequently are encountered conditionswhere a member, such as a light fixture or the like, must of necessitybe mounted in such relationship to an already installed air outletdevice as to obstruct flow of air from the latter and prevent the airfrom following a most effective ventilating path of flow.

The object of the present invention is to combine with an obstruction ofany kind to the flow of air from an air outlet device, means to guidethe air in a desired manner about the obstruction so as to, in eifect,eliminate interference of the obstruction with flow of the air in a mosteffective ventilating path.

With the foregoing general object in view, the invention consists in thenovel combination and arrangement of air flow control means relative toan obstruction to flow of air from an air outlet device, as willbe-hereinafter more fully described, illustrated by way of example inthe accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of referencedenote corresponding parts in the different views:

Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are sectional views illustrating differentadaptations of means to cause air delivered from an air outlet device toflow in a desired manner about an obstruction to the natural path offlow of the air from the outlet device.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 10 designates a wall of aroom orother enclosure, 11 designates an air outlet device which may be mountedeither in the wall 10, as shown, or, if desired, adjacent thereto, fordelivering air from an air supply duct- (not shown) into the room orenclosure for heating, cooling, ventilating or any other purpose and insuch manner that a large proportion of the air travels along the wall10, due to certain extent to its natural tendency to cling to said wall,and 12 designates a member, such as a beam, a wall offset, a lightfixture or the like, which projects from said Wall 10 and acts as anobstruction to the natural path of flow of the air along said wall.

In most instances where a member, such as the member 12, obstructs flowof air along a wall from an air outlet device, it serves to deflect theair away from the wall and prevents the air from following a path whichbest adapts it to serve its purpose. In other words, in most instanceswhere a member obstructs flow of air from an air outlet device along awall, it usually is desirable that the air continue to flow along thewall at the side of the member remote from the air outlet device.Accordingly, the present invention consists in the use of a vane orvanes 13 at a corner or corners of the member 12 for directing airaround said member and thus, in effect, eliminating said member as anobstruction to flow of the air in a path best adapting it to accomplishits purpose.

in Fig. lof the drawings the wall 10 may be presumed to be either aceiling or a side wall, the air outlet device '11 is of a type which ismounted in a recess in said wall and acts to cause a large proportion ofthe total amount of air delivered therefrom to flow along said wall, andthe member 12 may be presumed to be either a beam, a light fixture orthe like extending downwardly from said wall, or a column, offset or thelike projecting inwardly from said wall in the path of flow of air fromthe air outlet device 11. In the absence of means to direct the airaround the member 12, said member would intercept the air and deflect itaway from the wall 10, with the result that there would be no flow ofair from the device 11 along the wall at the side of the member 12remote from said device 11. in fact, deflection of the supplied air bythe member 12 away from the wall 10, would induce, at the side of themember 12 remote from the device 11, flow of enclosure air in the samegeneral direction as the direction of flow of the deflected suppliedair. Now assuming that the air delivered by the device 11, in order bestto serve its purpose, should pass around the member 12 and continue itsoriginal direction of flow along the wall 16 at the side of said member12 remote from said outlet device, the present invention consists inmounting a vane 13 adjacent to each of the two front corners, 14, 14 ofsaid member 12 to cause the applied air to flow in this desired manner.

The vanes 13 may be of any suitable lengths and are of substantiallyL-shape in cross section so that each includes two flanges 15, 15 whichare disposed at substantially right angles to each other and whichpreferably are joined together by a rounded corner 16. In mounting saidvanes adjacent to the front corners 14, 14 of the member 12, one flange15 of each vane is spaced from disposed substantially parallel to thefront face of 'the member 12 in overlapping relationship thereto, andthe remaining two flanges 15 of said vanes are spaced from and disposedsubstantially parallel and in overlapping relationship 'to the two sidefaces, respectively, of said member 12. Thus, said vanes 13 cooperatewith the member 12 to provide passageways 17 which extend around thefront corners 14, 14 of said member and which cross sectionally, areopen at their ends for flow of air into and from the same. It will thusbe apparent that air flowing from the air outlet device 11 along thewall 10 toward the member 12 and deflected away from said wall by theside face of said member 12.nearer said air outlet device, will passthrough the passageway 17 at the front corner 14 of said member 12nearer said outlet device and will have its direction of flow changed bythe vanes ofthe member 13 located at'sa'id corner of said member 12sothatthe air then-will flow substantially parallel to and across thefront face of said member 12. The air then will pass through thepassageway 17 at the front corner 14 of the member 12 remote from theair outlet device 11 and again will have its direction of flow changedby the vanes of the member 13 located at the latter corner of saidmember 12 so that the air then will flow along the side face of themember 12 remote from the air outlet device 11 toward the wall 10, bywhich it will be intercepted and again directed in its originaldirection of flow along said wall. As a result, the member 12 will, ineffect, be eliminated as an obstruction to the path of flow of the airfrom the air outlet device 11 along the Wall 10,

as will be apparent from the arrows a which indicate'the path of flow orthe air around said member 12.

Should the member 12 be of shallow depth and project only a shortdistance from the wall 19, it may not be necessary to employ a vane 13at the front corner'14 of saidmember 12 remotefrom the air outlet device11 to direct the air along the remote side of said member 12 toward thewall 10.. in that event only a single vane .13 located at the frontcorner 14-of said member 12 nearer the-.air-outlet device 11 need beemployed to direct the air across thefront face of said member 12.

Ininstances where the side of the member 12'nearer the airoutletidevice11 is of a nature such that it. might acttodeflect the supplied air inmost any direction, or directions, or might even permit the supplied airto enter said member, as, for example, in instances where said member isin the form of a light fixture or the like having "vention as applied'toab'a'ggage" rack or'simil'a'r member irregular sides possibly open atcertain points. as il1nstrated in Fig. .2 of the drawings, it may bedesirable also to .employavane 13 similar to one of the vanes 13 at. thecorner v18 between the wall 10 and the side face of saidmemben 12 nearerthe air outlet device 11 to assist in directing air delivered from saidair outlet device itsI-flanges1 disposed either against or adjacent'toand extending parallel or substantially parallel to the said side faceof the member 12. Thus, said vane 13 obviously will'serve to deflect thesupplied air forwardly from the wall along the said side face of themember 12 so that it willbe substantially unaffected by any irregularityof said side face and will be acted upon by the vane or vanes 13 at thefront corner or corners of the member 12 in the same manner as set forthin connection with Fig. 1 of the drawings. A companion vane 13 may, ifdesired, beinounted in the same manner as said first mentioned vane 13*-at the corner 18'between .the wall 10 and the side' of the memberI12remote from the air outlet device 'illto assist in promoting flow ofsupplied air aroundsaid member'12, particularly in instances whereiavane 13 is provided 'at' the front corner of the member 12 remoteTfrdr'n'the air outlet device .11 to cause the supplied air 'toiflowalong the farsidefaceof saidmember 12 toward the'wa'll110.

In some instances the member :12, instead 10f being of rectangular shapein cross lsection, as. shown. in. Figs. '1 nd '2 of the drawings, maybeofsubstantially -.V -shape .in'ci'oss section as shown infFig. 3 ofthedrawings. In

j thateve'nt, only a single vane 1 3b'of substantially V-shape in cross.section need be employed to direct-air stlPPlied 'fi'dm'the air outletdevice .11 around saidimember 12. Inother words, asingle vane 13ofsubstantially V-shape inci'oss section maybe mounted. at the apexofthe member 12 with its flangesil5 15 spaced'from and extendingsubstantially parallel to the inclinedside faces, respectively, ofsaidmember 12 to provide a passageway 17 which cros's sectionallyis open.atits endsand extends around theapex of said member 12, .asillustratedin.-Fig.

3. Air .deflect'e'dliforwardlyf'from the wall .10 bytheinclinedside-faceof 'thek'nernbefn nearer the air outlet device '11 will"pass through'thefpa'ss'age".vay'I7 and by the-wanes of*themember"13will'have its'direction of flowchanged so-"that it will'fiowalongthe'inclined side faceiof- 'saidj member 12' remote from the air outletdevice 11 toward the wall -10-to continue itsoriginal' directionofflowalongsaid wall. If desired, other vanes maybe employed at thecorners between thewall-10 and the inclined side faces 'of the'member 12illustrated in-Figk3 inthe same .manneras the vanes employed at thecorrespending corners .in the. example of the invention illustratedinFig. 2 of the drawings to assist indirectingthe air arountha member 12.such as is illustrated in Figj-fi .-,F.-ig.-4 of the 1 drawingsillustrate'sathe utility ofsthe inthe like designated generally as 21.The air outlet device 7 31 is illustrated as being mounted as usual inthe ceiling 22 of the enclosure so as to direct air across the ceilingtoward and downwardly over the side Wall 23 of the enclosure. The member20 acts, of course, as an obstruction to downward flow of the air overthe side wall 23 and serves to deflect the air inwardly so thatordinarily the air would not reach the side of the enclosure'jbeneathsaid member 2%. However, in accordance With the present invention, avane 13 of substantially'U-shape in crosssection is mounted inspacedrelationship to the inner edge of the member .20 to provide apassageway 1? of substantially U-shape in cross section extending aroundthe inner edge of said member 20. Said passageway, considered crosssectionally, is open atits ends for flow of the air therethrough, andthe upper portionof the vane 13 is disposed to intercept air flowinginwardly across the top of the member 20 and to direct it through saidpassageway 17. The air thus is caused to flow across the under side ofthe member 29 toward the side wall 23 of the enclosure so as to reachthe space beneath said memberv 20.

The vaneor vanes used in any particular instance may, of course, beformedfrom metal, glass, plastic, or any other suitable opaque,translucent or transparent material. 7

From the foregoing description considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, it is believed that the invention will be clearlyunderstood and its advantages appreciated. It is desired to emphasize,however, that the illustrated adaptations of the invention are merely byway of example and are not to be construed as limiting, since. theinvention within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims,may readily be adapted to the solution of may other air flow controlproblems encountered in the ventilating art.

I claim: l

1. In ventilating apparatus .including a device 'fordeliveringair intoan enclosure past an obstruction in the intended path .of flow of airfrom said device, said -ob-' struction having a corner, a vane ofsubstantially L- shape in 'cross section .mounted'in .spacedJelationshiptorand-extending around thecornerof said obstruction struction having aplurality of corners, apluiality .of-

vanes of substantially L-shape in cross section mounted in spacedrelationship to and extending around different corners, respectively, ofsaid obstruction to guide the air around said obstruction back to itsintended path of flow.

3. In ventilating apparatus including a device for delivering .air intoan enclosure adjacent to and along a wall of the enclosure pasta memberprojecting from the walllinto the enclosure and constitutingart-obstruction to the intendedpathofflowof :airfrom said .device aiong.saidwall, said .member havingsidefaces and.:a front face and cornerswattheir junctions and saidiside faces in conjunction with the .face ofsaid Well forming othercorners, .a pair of vanes of substantially.Lshape in crosssection, each including angularly related flanges,mounted adjacent to the corners at the junction of opposite side facesof said members withsaid wall face with their flanges disposed adjacentto and extending substantially parallel to said wall face and said sidefaces, respectively,-and another pair of similar vanes mounted adjacentto the'corners at the junctions of the side faces with the front face ofsaid memberwith their flanges spaced fr'omand extending substantiallyparallel to said sidezfacesand 'saidfront face, respectively, todirect/the air aroundsaidmember back to. its -intended' path of flowalong said wall at the side of said member remote from said device.

4. In ventilating apparatus including a device for delivering air intoan enclosure adjacent to and along a wall of the enclosure past a memberprojecting from the wall into the enclosure and constituting anobstruction to the intended path of flow of air from said device alongsaid wall, said member having angularly related faces forming a corner,a vane of substantially L-shape in cross section, including angularlyrelated flanges, mounted adjacent to said corner with said flangesdisposed substantially parallel to and spaced from said faces,respectively, to direct the air around said corner.

5. In ventilating apparatus including a device for delivering air intoan enclosure adjacent to and along a wall of the enclosure past a memberprojecting from the Wall into the enclosure and constituting anobstruction to the intended path of flow of air from said device alongsaid wall, said member having side faces which in conjunction with theface of said wall form corners and a front face which in conjunctionwith said side faces form corners, a vane of substantially L-shape incross section including angularly related flanges mounted in the cornerat the junction of said wall face with the side face of said membernearer said device with its flanges disposed adjacent to andsubstantially parallel to said faces, respectively, to direct the airalong the side face of said member nearer said device, and another vaneof substantially L-shape in cross section extending around the corner ofsaid member nearer said device with its flanges spaced from andextending substantially parallel to the front face and to the side faceof said member nearer said device, respectively, to direct the airaround said corner across the front face of said member.

6. In ventilating apparatus as set forth in claim 5 a third vane ofL-shape in cross section extending around the corner of the memberremote from the air delivering device with its flanges spaced from andextending substantially parallel to the front face and to the side faceof the member remote from the air outlet device, respectively, to directthe air from the front face of the member around the corner of themember remote from the air outlet device.

7. In ventilating apparatus including a device for delivering air intoan enclosure adjacent to and along a wall of the enclosure past a memberprojecting from the wall into the enclosure and constituting anobstruction to the intended path of flow of air from said device alongsaid wall, said member having side faces and a front face and corners attheir junctions, a pair of vanes of substantially L-shape in crosssection extending around said corners in spaced relationship thereto,respectively, to guide the air about said member and toward said wall atthe side of said member remote from said air outlet device.

8. In ventilating apparatus including a device for delivering air intoan enclosure past a member disposed in the path of flow of air from saiddevice, said member having angularly related faces forming a corner, oneof said faces being disposed to intercept air delivered from said deviceand to deflect it from its normal path of flow from said device, a vaneof substantially L-shape in cross section extending around said cornerin spaced relationship thereto for guiding the deflected air around saidcorner, said vane having angularly related flanges one of which isdisposed to intercept air deflected by the air intercepting face of saidmember' 9. In a ventilating installation wherein an air supply device iseffective to deliver air into a room and there exists in the room anobstruction which lies in the intended direction of flow of air from thedevice and deflects the air from its intended direction of flow beyondsaid obstruction, vane means mounted adjacent to said obstruction in thepath of flow of the air deflected by said obstruction and effective tointercept and guide the deflected air around said obstruction back toits intended direction of flow beyond said obstruction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS681,215 Goll Aug. 27, 1901 2,001,801 Smith, Jr. May 21, 1935 2,004,927Bulkeley June 18, 1935 2,080,727 Blomberg May 18, 1937 2,446,879 KennedyAug. 10, 1948

